Girl Scouts launching ‘healthier' cookie

As a parent of a former Girl Scout, I know the new year means one thing for our young girls in green vests and sashes: Cookies are coming.

Of all the fund-raisers your kids do (and you know there are a ton), this one is always an easy sell. When my daughter was involved in a local troop, we had friends and neighbors beating down our door or emailing me about their favorite cookies. “When is she selling? I NEED eight boxes of Lemonades now.”

Orange County troops sold 2.5 million boxes of cookies in 2012. This year, cookie sales begin Sunday. Most of the eight varieties will feature your favorites – Thin Mints, Lemonades, Peanut Butter Patties, Shortbread, Thanks-a-lot, Caramel deLites and Peanut Butter Sandwich. But this year, a new flavor, Mango Crèmes, is replacing the caramelized, Belgian-style Shout-Out cookie.

In a twist, the vanilla and coconut cookie with mango crème filling is infused with added fruit nutrients. (Think Jamba Juice vitamin boost.)

ABC Bakers, one of two bakery suppliers used by troops across America, developed the cookie based on market research that showed “people want to enjoy a treat but are looking for a little something extra in terms of nutrients,” said Emilie Perkins, a spokeswoman for Girl Scouts of Orange County.

The Scouts also are sticking to their 3-year-old direct-sales strategy. In the past, troops would take orders and deliver cookies three to four weeks later. For some fanatics, the wait was agonizing. Now, troops pre-order their inventory and receive shipments Jan. 26. They start selling the next day. Each box costs $4.

Sidecar Doughnuts debut

When longtime friends Chi-Lin Pendergrast and Brooke DesPrez launched a public sampling party for their gourmet doughnuts and French-pressed coffee, about 10 people showed up.

“And we knew all of them,” Pendergrast says with a laugh, recalling the October event.

Each weekly tasting, held in Costa Mesa, grew larger as people caught a glimpse of Sidecar's savory, sweet artisan doughnuts.

By the time the last “sampling” event rolled around before the holidays, Pendergrast said, “there was a 40-minute wait” for doughnuts.

Testing is now over, and Sidecar is set to open next month in Costa Mesa. The 17th Street café will feature French-pressed coffee from Stumptown – a high-profile Oregon roaster with a string of cafes in Portland, Seattle and New York. On Friday, Kean Coffee will start selling Sidecar gourmet doughnuts in Tustin and Newport Beach.

If you've noticed anything astray lately at Cucina Alessá's Huntington Beach and Newport Beach locations, there's a reason. Chef-owner Alessandro Pirozzi, who launched the first Alessa in Newport Beach in 2008, said he “severed” ties with those restaurants in late December.

Under his new restaurant company, Pirozzi Culinary Collection, Pirozzi said “his time and attention” will focus on his Laguna Beach restaurants: Alessá Laguna Beach and Mare Culinary Lounge.

Teri Williams, a spokeswoman for Pirozzi, said the chef is developing new concepts that are slated to open later this year in Orange County.

Pirozzi, a native of Naples, developed Alessa's menu from recipes taught to him by his grandmother.

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